The Disposition Matrix

Mission:

The sun drowned in the horizon, it's rays of light glimmering in the darkness of the clouds, boasting mystical colors as Twilight shadowed like a snake across the plains of the Mountainous peaks commonly known as Mt Magnolia. As the sun made it's slow descent, it allowed it's forever fluorescent and luminous sister, the Moon to take it's residence in the vastness of the night Sky. Casting it's own rays down upon Magnolia, it's endless light seemed to reflect off of every surface it touched, even simple flowers seemed to radiate with a peculiar white and blue glow. Numerous burning balls of gas, commonly known as stars shimmered their existence within the black void above, reflecting upon the infamous waterfall of Magnolia's still waters creating an atmosphere of grace like no other. The night remained still as can be, as even the animals and critters of the night seemed at a loss for words, speechless at the wonders of nature. The only audible sounds was the rushing of the waterfall as it's never-ending cycle drowned out any noise made from the monsters lurking in the mountains.

It was nights like these Xui Mei lived for. This was an area she had often visited when she had ran away from home due to the fact she had always hated being in one place for too long and even though she was now all grown up, that aspect hadn”t changed as she had a bad habit of completely disappearing from the Guild. How long had it been since she had last visited the guild? Days? Weeks? Months? She had lost count. It wasn’t that she hated the Guild or the people in it no that was far from the truth, the guild was her home and the members were her family, she was just a free spirit.

Xui Mei was currently leaning against a tree dressed in a black cloak which covered her from head to toe. Today’s quest seemed rather simple, hunting down some monsters for some collection. Normally this would be something that she would do on her own but seeing as these monsters travel in packs of six to twelve she would need some help and who better to assist her than members of her Guild? She had sent a message to the Guild in hopes they were able to dispatch a couple of members to assist her in this mission and was now waiting for them to show up.

Word Count: 417

The night was dark on Mt. Magnolia. The shadows and darkness of the night has resurfaced ever since the light of the sun chased it away. The warmth the sun had provided merely a few minutes ago slowly seeped out of the air, the coldness replacing it The chill in the air was unmistakable. Although it wasn't snowing, the freezing wind attacked anybody like a blast of snow. Despite the cold wind, there were animals out in the open. Countless animals, big or small or herbivorous or carnivorous, were out. Their natural protection, shielding them from the coldness of the night.

Misty was trekking her way up the wind filled mountains. She did not respond to the wind as it attacked her on all sides. Sure it chilled her to the bone but it did not kill her. She ignored the wind, as she tried to find Xui, an S class who often went out for jobs by herself. She's met her once or twice before. Shee was thrilled when she learned that Xui sent a message bck to the guild requesting for help. Misty was the first to volunteer, since she was looking forward to help such a strong individual with this mission. Her first priority was going to be finding her. However, now the darkness was so thick that it seemed not even a cat's glare could pierce it.

Misty allowed herself to squint to see better she could make out shadowy outlines of animals. They were all unrecognizable to her but it didn't matter. What she was looking for was a shadow that has somewhat of a human resemblance, so far none of the animals out had crazy shapes but none matched the unmistakable human form. Did Xui use transformation magic along with her Fire Dragon Slayer magic? Misty did not know, she kept walking around, hopefully able to find her soon.

Word Count: 314

A beautiful array of stars decorated the arriving blanket of night across the landscape of Magnolia.The luminous moon steadily rises towards the cloudless heaven as it beautifully shone it's divine brilliance upon the various forms of earth material as well as the prosperous towns within it illuminating range. Walking up the rugged and jagged mountainous regions of the well-known Mt. Magnolia, Malik, Fairy Tail's Devil Slayer, cautiously walked upwards the rocky pathways, both his hands with the pockets of his favorite cyan hoodie. He was wearing is usual outfit, so to speak. The rest of it consisted of a black short-sleeved shirt with a black lightning bolt possessing a white outline to make it stand out more, considering the color of the piece of clothing. On the lower half of his body, he has on long and baggy sky blue pants. The are very spacious allowing him much room to move around as well as to not be so restrained. Finally, on his feet are grey shoes, each having cyan blue trim sitting at the top of their soles. With great alertness and caution, he steadily shifted his gaze across the current climate he was rigorously trudging through. He quickly stole a glimpse of the glorious, illuminating light of night from above, the moon. Malik had always did like looking at the luminous object within the cloudless skies from afar. It ever so fascinated him seemingly to no end. He couldn't get sidetracked, however. The reason he was her in the first place was to help search for one of his guildmates, Xui Mei. She was the the guild Dragon Slayer as well as an S-Class Mage. He had carefully observed before how powerful she was and it astounded him. Similar to his Devil Slayer Magic, Xui element was fire. Malik considered him at an advantage, since he can each basically any flame compared to the Dragon Slayer. Despite these obvious circumstances, she was well adept and skilled in utilizing her magic. One would think twice on picking a fight with her, especially an S-Class Mage. As strong as she is, he didn't expect for her to send a message back at the guild for assistance in a mission.

He continued to carefully traverse the mountainous pathways, mindful of the numerous dangerous creatures that appears within the darkness of night, using it's blanket to conceal their swift movement. The young Devil Slayer saw this as a way for these types of animals to survive. Of course, if they happen upon the Ifrit, there would most certainly be nothing left of them, not even ashes. Malik's Devil Slayer Magic is said to give him control over the perpetual flames found within Hell. Their heat is so intense they can incinerate their targets into nothingness. They can even burn a person's spirit, making this magic very frightful. However, with him being so kind and merciful, the unlikely targets found here were leaning on surviving within only severe burns. Still, he is ever so mindful of the demonic offensive power his flames possess. They move as if they are alive and act maliciously towards their unfortunate target. When not properly looked after, these malevolent flames will spread destroying all in their wake until their is nothing left. That is to show one the testament of the Flames of Hell. This fire of his embodies it's natural counterpart's destructive aspect and exist solely to punish the wicked. Quite ironic that the same flames created to torment evil are demonic in nature. As he continued to carefully trudge through the crooked pathway of the dangerous mountains, he's golden brown eyes suddenly caught a mysterious figure within his altered sights. He innocently wondered who this person was in front of him. The questions from the wandering recesses of his mind were quickly answered as the distance between him and the no longer mysterious figure before him shrank. He gentle smile etched it's way across his harmless face as he knew who it was in front of him. The figure was none other than Misty, a Requip Mage, which he noted was quite skilled.

"Hello, Misty, nice meeting you here. I see you have also accepted the request Xui had sent out to our guild." He said to her, a hint of happiness at meeting a friend evident within a soft tone. He spoke loud enough for her to hear him, but also quietly enough for no hostile life to detect them from sound alone. Who know what mysterious creature lurk with the blanket of this beautiful night. In fact, the view of the heavens from above was the the main highlight of his trip her, other than meeting up with Misty, of course. There were multiple negatives to coming to such a place. They were even worse when it was dark out, making it rather difficult to tell which direction one was following. One misstep and a person could fall from the impressive heights of the mountainous area, severing injuring oneself as a tragic result. It was also irritatingly cold in this area. Especially at the time of night, the freezing gusts seem to become worse for an ordinary being. However, it is thanks to his Devil Slayer Magic, that Malik is provided protection from the icy touch of the persistent gales. There were many applications his demonic flames were amazingly capable of other than burning anything to nothing. While they are primarily utilized for mass destruction, they can assist the user in certain ways one would rarely think about. One such example is to produce light as other flames can. With a swift motion, he lifted his right hand outward. With his palm open, he then, formed a small orb of demonic flames within it. Just from looking at this fire, one could obviously tell it was unusual. Still, this was currently the only way to shed sufficient light upon the area.

"This should make the situation less difficult. It will be easier to search for Xui. Truthfully, I hope she is alright." He said, slightly worried what kind of predicament the Dragon Slayer might be in. Of course, there was no reason to be so apprehensive in the first place. Xui Mei was an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail. She handle nearly handle challenge that comes her way. Still, if she were to send a request to be assisted by other mages from her guild, then it is most likely she has taken on more than she had bargained for. He has read about the certain creatures Xui had to face. An important fact he read is that they hunt in packs. Alone, they do not pose a sort of problem, but in large numbers, they were highly dangerous as well as deadly. This mission is most definitely in need of a team of mages. Of course, one can accomplish this request solo, but larger numbers have their advantages. An example would be an easier job at completing the mission, if not at a much faster rate. Of course, this depends on the number of mages doing the quest. In this one's case, there were three, which consisted of Xui, Malik, and Misty.

Word Count: 1202

Her red hues scanned the area thoroughly as she was currently in extremely hostile territory. The lobos had first migrated here a couple months ago and had settled in the area wreaking havoc within the area, and considering that they were carnivorous animals that meant no one was safe. There had been incidents where children and adults alike went missing in the area with the only remnants of their existence were torn clothing and their belongs scattered all over the area. If it was up to her she would find where they had settled and burnt it to the grown eradicating them from the area once and for all but unfortunately she would be unable to do so as The National Institute of Magnolian Fauna wanted some alive for study, for what reason she had no idea but she was just the muscle for the mission so what they do with them it wasn’t her business.

“What’s that?” She muttered to herself as squinted her eyes to try to make out the two figures in the distance. Were they lobos? She would take the picture of the animals out of her cloak pocket and scanned it thoroughly to compare it to the two figures in the distance. Well judging by the shape of the figures in the distance they were walking on two feet opposed to the four lobos tend to walk on but maybe lobos mutated somehow and where able to walk on two feet? Chuckling at that random thought Xui would shake her head. “You’ve been watching too many sci-fi movies Xui.” She said to herself as she made her way over to the figures in the distance, if they were just wandering around the mountains she would have to warn them that it is quite dangerous to be around here at this time of night.

When she had gotten close enough she would realize that the two people were members of her guild. Though she had been way for more a couple months she had remembered the faces of both. “Hey there Misty, Malik.” She said with a warm smile as she greeted her guild mates. It wasn’t surprising that guild sent her two of the guild’s promising members and this will serve as great experience in battle for them. “Well as you both know we’re hunting down some lobos and we are required to bring about five alive so they can do whatever it is they want to do.” Raising her arm she would point west. “After scouting the area I found that twelve or more of them are residing in an open field at this time so if you both are ready we could make our way over there now and nip this in the bud.” Xui was already prepared but she waited on both of them to voice their opinions or concerns before she went to pick out a fur coat.

Misty was looking around when she was approaches by a man. She immediately recognized him as Malik, the fire demon slayer of the guild and one of her respected members. "Hello Malik," She greeted him. "Pleasant night here isn't it? You're here for the job as well?" She then looked around her vicinity. "We're supposed to find Lobos, but let's find Xui first." She spotted a dot coming from the distance. She didn't know if it was Xui or not but she kept her magic in bay just in case.

When the dot came closer she could see its features clearer. It walked on two feet, had a humanoid shape and also had a femenine quality to it. As it got closer she knew it was Xui. She relaxed her magic and smirked. "Hello Xui, I guess you found us rather than we finding you. I'm guessing we should to some old fashioned Lobo hunting and capturing, not that it's actually a sport since I never heard of a Lobo before you sent a request for help." She muttered as she looked around.

There were easily hundreds of animals around them, normal animals like insects and birds, a few rarer ones like sheep's and mountain rams, there was probably a some dangerous mountain creature around her. Absentmindedly she remembered the Vulcans that used to residex here.  Misty vaugely remembered before the FACE incident that took away the magic's of millions, Vulcans were not an exception. She hadn't seen one in months.

"I'm pretty sure this mountain is quite safe. Or at least safer than it used to be since there are no more mountain Vulcans trying to Takeover humans or stuff like that." She proclaimed. "That makes no reason to slack of and assume everything is safe. From your descriptions of Lobos they sound dangerous. We better all watch our backs of we'd get eaten."

Word Count: 315

While keeping the sphere of chaotic blue flames carefully lit within the palm of his right hand, he cautiously shifted his gentle gaze around himself. He steadily scanned the background of the dark, dim regions of the Mt. Magnolia. He may have one hand preoccupied at the moment, but his left was prepared for any minor threats threatened to attack in a cunning manner. As he looked on, he saw now hostile figures within his eyesight, nothing dangerous or life-threatening to him or his friend beside him. When all seemed appropriately safe and no creatures were with enough range to be noted of another being, the Devil Slayer spotted a moving silhouette. He quickly became alert at the sudden appearance of the mysterious figure. He stood firm, readied for who might be coming both Misty and his way. As the silhouette grew closer, his stiffened body began to soften with relief at the joyous site of a familiar face. Instead of the figure being an enemy, it was the very person, both him and his friend were sent to assist with the Lobos, Xui Mei. His mouth curved into a small smile, as he was happy at seeing her. Malik kept the orb of his demonic flames burning within his right hand, careful to not let them harm his two friends beside himself. With his left, he gave a friendly wave to the Dragon Slayer. Ironic, the person they were looking for, found them instead.

Good to see you again, Xui. It appears you are having little to no difficulty with the wildlife around this area. We haven't found any dangerous beasts as of yet, but they are bound to reveal themselves." He said, trying to note of how hazardous it is to stay within these parts of Magnolia for far too long. If one were to camp out here so carelessly without even having sufficient information on what happens here on a daily basis, one could seriously get themselves injured either by mistakes they have previously made themselves or by other ways such as the animals present as well as the natural obstacles stationed around here. Overall, as quiet and seemingly safe it appears from one's own view, Malik is still highly cautious about his surroundings. After all, how something looks can be quite deceiving in the eyes of many. Soon after meeting with one another, Xui had stated the main reason why they were all here to begin with. It is to defeat the Lobos whom are causing quite a raucous up in the mountainous regions which they are at. Also, they were leave fives of them alive to take back. This may be due to a reward of some sort. Xui had told both Misty and him that they were within the open field, perform action that Lobos usually do. There were twelve or more of these types of these creatures from what she had said. From her words as well as the tone in her voice, she was ready to take these Lobos on in battle. Malik decided to express his own opinion on what he thinks facing these beasts.

"I am with you, we all three of us here, we can would have less trouble handling these Lobos. They may be a danger to a mage, but with more, it should be much of a problem defeat them all. However, we must be careful to where we're going. It is very dark out here and their may possibly be hostile creatures other than the Vulcan Lobos. I'll use my flames to light the way. Be cautious and stay alert to the surroundings. He said as he decided to walked on ahead of the two women, his left palm still holding the orb of his demonic fire. He was going to take lead and be a lookout for other wild beasts other than the Lobos. Even though Xui Mei is of a higher level than himself, that doesn't mean he still didn't worry for his friends. He solemnly walked, ever so keeping alert to his surrounding. It is because of the blanket of darkness that shrouds the mountains at night, the creatures residing here have a chance of using it to their advantage. That is all the more reason to stay in the light. Still, their is little to no reason to worry so much. Malik, Misty, and Xui were all powerful mages who could easily hold there own against strong opponents. Together, they have an even greater chance of completing this mission. Also, when the request they all set out to do is finished, they can ago and celebrate with Xui finally coming back to the guild after a couple months away. Admittedly, he missed having her around.

As he continued his silent walk to the open field with his comrades, he remained prepared for anything that could happen. He knows full well that boy girls can handle themselves in a fight. Xui can fight at a higher caliber than himself. She is definitely not someone to mess with in his own opinion. In fact, no one would want to mess with an S-Class Mage, especially of Fairy Tail. While still walking he shifted his gaze to make sure they were not being followed. There appears to be no threat looming over their heads at the moment as he went by. He was careful where he took his steps, steadily, but quick as not to slow the others down. He remembered Xui say the Lobos were at an open field of some sort, so he must look for where that patch of land may possibly be. He carefully turned from one direction to another, both being careful not to take a wrong step and end up falling into a very ragged crevice or down a cliff as well as to find this field his friend had previously mentioned. In the darkness of night, Malik could see a desired patch of land he had been looking for this whole time. Also, wondering around in this area were wolf-like creatures. Their eyes glow with bloodlust, their teeth bared and sharp. They appear ready to pounce at anything they view as their enemy. Overall, they look dangerous to trifle with. Malik suspected these creatures to be the Lobos they were looking for in the first place.

"Here is the place you told whom these beasts were at. We need to take cover and hide our presence. We cannot rush in blindly without a plan." He whispered to Misty and Xui. He then, gestured with his left hand to follow him. He quickly looked around and spotted a group of large trees and boulders they could hide behind. Hurriedly and quietly, he hid himself with the size of the boulder, it's shadow easily camouflaging him in it's darkness. He hoped Misty and Xui would do the same and conceal themselves. To not draw attention to him or his comrades, Malik let the orb of demonic flames within his right hand burn out, it's light extinguished. The light of the luminous moon and twinkling stars will have to suffice.